You Raise Me Up
by Nikani
Summary: Continuation of Watching Over Me. Year 4 has begun, and hopefully things will be better for everyone. AU story, no slash, Sirius/Harry family, Snape is a friend, and love and affection abounds! Be prepared...hugs ahead!
1. Chapter 1

Welcome to a new story and continuation of What's in a Name and Watching Over Me! For those of you who haven't read those two stories, you may be a bit lost, but please keep in mind that this is AU so characters you know from the wonderful JK Rowling are a little different in my world. Severus Snape is friends with the Marauders and has given up spying to help Sirius and Remus in their attempts to raise Harry safely to adulthood. NO SLASH is involved in this story. Harry is 14 but has spent most of his life without having someone to care for him, so be prepared for lots of love, hugs, and general affection on the part of Sirius and for Harry to be very needy for the above demonstrations!

Part 1

The summer day had dawned bright and clear; a perfect day to spend playing outside in the grass or flying on a broomstick through the cloudless sky. A day to doze under a big tree next to the lake after being stuffed full of a picnic lunch.

Unfortunately for Harry Potter, none of those things were happening for him.

At this particular moment, the fourteen year old was hand washing dishes from breakfast, something that would normally have been done by the castle's cadre of house elves. Today, however, it was Harry's job. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and any snacks. In between, his hands would be buried inside cauldrons in Professor Severus Snape's lab cleaning them by hand as well.

Another problem was that his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, were sentenced to a similar punishment, only they were scrubbing the classrooms Remus Lupin and Sirius Black would be teaching in once the school term started. Ron slumped along behind the werewolf after breakfast was done carrying his bucket and scrub brush, while Hermione, blushing red over being punished at all, hid behind her bushy hair with another bucket and brush as she followed the canine animagus.

"Finished?"

Harry placed the final dish on the rack and turned to face his potions master, "Yes, sir."

"Come along, then."

The teenager trailed after the man to his lab and made a face at the huge pile of cauldrons, stirrers, measurement utensils, and myriad other supplies needed for brewing that awaited him. With a soft sigh, he donned the dragonhide gloves Sev extended to him and began the next phase of his punishment.

"Refresh my memory, please, Mr. Potter. You are doing this, why?"

He bowed his head over his work and continued scrubbing even as he answered, "Because the three of us haven't got the sense Merlin gave an owl."

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"And which sense would that be?" Remus demanded softly.

"The sense of self-preservation," Ron muttered from his place on the floor in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom as he diligently plied his brush to the stone floor.

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"And what were you doing to jeopardize yourself?" Sirius growled from his perch on the desk in the Transfiguration classroom that was now his.

"Trying to transform ourselves into our animagus animals without proper adult supervision," Hermione recited as she rubbed briskly at the ink stains running down the table legs with her brush.

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"…and we swear that we will never do it again!" All three children chorused from their position on the rug before the fireplace in the Marauder's common room.

"If you do," Sirius threatened, "I will see to it that you never transform again. Got it?"

"Yes, sir!"

"Bed! Now!" He ordered and all three bolted for bedrooms without a backwards look. Hermione had one to herself and part of her wished she could have been in with the two boys so they could share their horrible day together.

Sirius collapsed to sit on the other end of the couch from Remus as Sev made use of his favorite cushy chair, "Hopefully, today put all thoughts out of their minds of ever doing something like that again."

The sandy haired man shook his head, "I still can't believe that they tried to convince us that Hagrid, of all people, could be considered 'proper adult supervision!'"

Fixing his friends with a dark look, Severus grumbled, "I blame James for this."

The other two wizards stared at him in stunned disbelief until Remus finally stuttered, "Ja…Ja…James?! How can you possibly blame a man long dead for something his son, who doesn't even remember him, attempted to do?"

"It's very simple, Moony. I either blame James, you, Dumbledore, or Fenrir Greyback." He ignored the repeated spluttering and continued, "If Greyback hadn't bit you, Remus, you never would have become a werewolf. If you weren't a werewolf, Dumbledore wouldn't have had to make special arrangements for you during our time at Hogwarts at full moons. James figured out you were a werewolf and insisted the rest of the Marauders become animagi. Harry is far too much like James at times for my level of comfort. Therefore, it is James' fault for passing on the Marauder gene and desire to be an animagus to Harry and getting us into this fix to begin with!"

Sirius blinked several times as he tried very hard to follow this weird logic, and finally he just gave up, "Okay, James it is." He rose and stretched, "I'm going to check on the children and be right back. We can bash James a little more, then."

"Sirius!" Remus rebuked. "We shouldn't speak ill of the dead!"

He shrugged one shoulder, "Then when I get back, we can blame you." He strolled to the door leading to Hermione's room and tapped softly, leaving the wolf muttering imprecations behind him. When a soft voice invited him in, the handsome man slipped in, left the door cracked a bit, and approached the large bed, "Settled, Hermione?"

The teenage girl nodded from her place amongst a nest of pillows and waited until her friend's guardian reached her side, "I really am sorry, Sirius. I should have known better than to try the transformation; I let my pride rule my judgment and it won't happen again."

He seated himself on the edge of the bed facing the girl as he tucked her in, "'Mione, the three of you have done spectacularly well on your animagus forms, and I am certainly proud of you. However, there is still the element of danger in attempting the change without someone who knows what they're doing close by. I rely on your good common sense to help balance out Ron's recklessness and Harry's hero complex. It may be too much to ask of a fourteen year old girl, but I can't be with them every moment of the day."

Hermione nodded in understanding, "I know, Sirius, and I promise that I will be more aware in the future. I've gotten the two of them this far in the last three years without either of them dying on me; I think I can manage another four."

He chuckled softly and patted her foot through the blanket covering her, "I'm pretty sure you can, too. Good night, Hermione."

"Night, Sirius."

Pacing back through the common room, he noticed Remus dozing on the couch and flicked a light blanket over him. The times before and after the full moon were draining on his friend and he didn't want the man to catch a chill. There was no sign of Sev, but faint noises from the end of the hallway where their bedrooms were located indicated he must be in his private lab.

Entering his ward's bedroom, he found Ron already sound asleep and snoring contentedly from his sprawled position in his bed on one side of the room. Lifting the blanket slightly, Sirius moved one foot that was sticking out back under its warmth and resettled the covers just under his red head.

Turning to the other bed, his beloved godson was sitting up watching him as he made his way over to sit on the bed. Simply holding out his arms, he invited the child in for a hug and wrapped his arms tightly around the slender form when Harry accepted and leaned into him. Bedtimes had quickly become a special moment for the two of them; a chance to talk softly about their day, a hug just to know that each is there for the other, and for Sirius to indulge in his paternal feelings and tenderly tuck the boy into bed with a loving kiss pressed to his messy hair.

Despite the fact that the boy was fourteen and normally would have been beyond such pampering, Harry felt that since he'd been deprived of such love growing up, he could enjoy it as long as his godfather was willing to give it. Sirius felt the exact same way and happily spoiled the youngster as much as he could.

"You know how much I love you, right, pup?"

"I love you, too, Siri."

One large hand slid into the black mop and pressed the boy's ear to his heart, "Do you hear that?" The head nodded, "When I found the three of you trying your transformations without one of us present, my heart literally stopped beating out of pure terror." He felt the child shudder slightly against him and continued, "When I think back on how stupid we were on trying the animagus change without an adult, I'm still amazed we managed to survive. There are so many things that can go wrong. In fact, the rat actually got trapped partway through his change and it took all three of us to force him back to fully human. The pain he was in was excruciating, as bad as a _crucio_ in many ways."

Huge, luminous green eyes filled with tears lifted to meet anguished grey, "I'm so sorry, Siri, I swear we'll never do it again without one of you there. We really thought we were ready to try it on our own, I didn't mean to scare you so badly."

Sirius tugged the young wizard closer again, carding his elegant fingers through his hair soothingly, "I know, pup, I know. I just hope that today taught you a lesson you won't soon forget." The head under his fingers nodded frantically, "Good. You're very close to being able to handle the transformation without supervision, but not until Sev and I are completely sure." He lowered his voice a bit more, "Especially with Ron. He's a little slower than you and Hermione so I don't want him to feel left behind like the rat did."

Hands tightened around the man's waist as Harry recognized a very real possibility of Ron following in Peter Pettigrew's footsteps if precautions weren't taken. His best friend was very loyal, but at times he felt abandoned by Harry and Hermione because of their quick grasp of magic and innate power. It was a concern the boy had shared with his godfather late one night over a cup of hot chocolate when neither of them could sleep.

"I'll be extra careful, Sirius, I wont let that happen," he vowed.

"I know you won't, you have a good heart, Harry. Lily and James would have been so proud of you, just as I am."

The boy smiled against his godfather's chest, flushed with pleasure those simple words wrought in him. Having Sirius in his life had brought many changes for the better and Harry felt on top of the world whenever he was complimented on doing something right. And, as he found out today, even when he was in trouble for doing something so incredibly stupid, he was still loved.

"Ready for bed, pup?"

He nodded as he pulled away from his guardian and settled against the pillows. Sirius tugged the blanket up to his chin as he curled up on his side, then leaned down to brush a light kiss over the messy mop of black hair. A gentle pat on his hip was followed with a low, "Good night, pup; I love you."

"Night, Siri; love you, too."

Part 2 is very soon to follow!

Please give the author a pat on the head to continue by sending a review. Anonymous reviews are always welcome, but I like to respond to folks who take the time to write/type something down. Constructive criticisms will be read and strongly considered by myself and my muse, but may not stay on the review page depending on how you phrase things. Flames will definitely not stay! Everyone is entitled to their personal opinions, but no one wants to read something they've really enjoyed get blasted by someone having a bad day or who thought I should have written it differently.

If you have concerns or issues with my writing, please send me a personal message, which I WILL respond to if you let me know who you are. I am NOT a professional writer and look for ways to improve on what I'm doing.

Happy reading, all!

Nikani


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2

The last full moon before the start of school was approaching and the children alternated between anxiety, pride, and a sense of commitment. After a long talk, the adults had agreed that the kids could join them that night in their animagus forms. It was a challenge in part to see if they were able to hold their forms for the entire night, including during sleep, and to actually be in the proximity of Remus when he was a werewolf. The last time that had happened, the man had changed without the benefit of the Wolfsbane Potion and would have attacked them if Sirius hadn't help drive him away.

Although they were a little afraid of facing a full grown werewolf, even with the potion, the Golden Trio cared a great deal for Remus and wanted to be there for him. The men had been working hard with all three on their forms, including teaching Hermione and Harry to fly, and were sure they would be fine.

Because of number of people involved, as well as the size of some of them, it was decided that they would let Remus complete his transformation in his private room that was warded and soundproofed, then they would head for the grounds. Sirius would stay in the room with him as Padfoot, while Severus remained in the common room in case something happened. If all went according to plan, Sirius would change back and open the door, knowing the werewolf was safe to be around. The children were to wait inside the castle doors for the three men to join them, then they would all go out together.

As expected, Remus made the change without any problems, thanks to the potion, and kept his mind intact. Padfoot switched to human and opened the door, finding Sev waiting patiently close by. The two men, followed by the very large sandy colored wolf, made their way to the doors where the kids were sitting and chatting. When they saw the group approaching, they rose and waited until Sirius gave them a nod, then transformed.

Snape opened the castle doors and stepped out before changing into his animagus form, a coal black panther; he made sure everything was safe before moving clear of the doorway so the others could come through. A medium-sized russet Irish setter bounded out first with a Brown-necked Raven fluttering right behind him, the wolf bolted out the door with a delighted howl at having friends and family to run with. Harry paused in the doorway a moment, unknowingly framed by the soft torchlight behind him that accented his beautiful form. A light slap to his haunches prompted the youngster to move out of the way so Sirius could close the doors and change as well.

Turning his elegant head, the black unicorn snorted at his godfather who nipped at his heels to get him to move. Spreading his wings, Harry leapt off the stone steps for a short flight before landing near Ron who barked at him and started running around in circles chasing his tail. Hermione glided down to perch mid-way up his silver horn as she fussed at the young setter for being silly. Moony approached the equine slowly, snuffling around him thoroughly before sitting in front of him and touching noses carefully. He then bounded away barking for the others to chase.

It was a fun night for the group of six as they ran and played on the large green lawns of Hogwarts between the castle and lake. Even though he hadn't yet attained his full growth, Harry was the biggest of the bunch and had a lot of energy to burn. As a winged unicorn, there were several aspects to his form that needed exploring, but this was a night for relaxing.

The only anxious moment came when Severus resumed human shape and approached Harry, "I'd like to get some blood from you, Harry, and a bit of hair from your tail so we can run a few tests to determine just how complete your form is and what abilities you may have."

Harry was fine with that and bobbed his head up and down. Sev took out a glass vial as the equine presented him with his black rump to get the tail hair. There were no problems with that and the man sealed the unbreakable vial and placed it in a pocket. He pulled out a needle, tubing, and another vial to draw the blood, and froze when he heard the unmistakable sound of a wolf growling.

Slowly turning his head, Severus found the werewolf crouched only a couple of feet away with his teeth bared and hackles raised. Very softly, he spoke to the unicorn, "Harry, when I give you the word, I want you to launch straight up. Do you understand?"

The black head barely moved and he could feel the muscles bunching in the powerful haunches for the leap.

"Now!"

Harry hurtled skyward in one magnificent leap, wings sweeping him up and away from any possible danger. As he did so, Snape threw himself to one side and switched forms, preparing to meet an angry werewolf. He needn't have worried. As soon as Harry moved, the wolf was tackled by a large Grim-like dog who wrestled him away from everyone else.

Once things calmed down a bit, Harry landed near his friends who were staying well away while Sirius was dealing with the werewolf. Moony whined softly from where he sat next to Padfoot, expressing his regret for scaring the crap out of everyone. Unfortunately, they would have to wait until much later for a full explanation, until then, the group made their way to a small shelter Hagrid had helped them prepare for tonight.

The floor was covered with a thick carpet of hay and there were blankets spread out against one wall for comfort. Normally, this was used by Hagrid for one creature or another he found injured in the Forbidden Forest and brought back to nurse; but tonight it was emptied for their use. Harry settled down on a fluffy mound of hay with Padfoot close by as Ron turned in circles on a blanket before lying down. Hermione perched in the rafters and tucked her head against her chest while Moony curled up next to Onyx. The last thing Harry thought as he slowly drifted off to sleep was that he and his friends needed to come up with some cool nicknames for themselves in animagus form.

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Half an hour before dawn, Moony woke everyone with a low howl of summoning and led the way back to the castle and their quarters. He went straight to his transformation room and Sirius closed the door behind the wolf. At his command, the kids changed back to human and quickly crowded close to the two adults wanting to know what happened.

Sirius finally held up one hand for silence and when he had it simply stated, "I have no idea what set Moony off when Sev went to take blood from Harry. We should know more this evening at dinner, but until then, let Remus rest and regain his strength."

Though they really wanted answers, they knew not to press and disappeared to Harry's room so they could talk about the night and how much fun everything else had been. When Sirius entered to check on them an hour later, he smiled to find all three sound asleep on his godson's huge bed where they had been gathered for their talk. He placed blankets over each one and left them where they were.

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After lunch, the now wide awake teenagers spent the afternoon in the Gryffindor dorm rooms unpacking their trunks and getting prepared for the return of the rest of the school, due back tomorrow. They were going to spend one last night down in the Marauder's quarters this evening and tomorrow morning would be a final rush for the teachers to get everything done in their classrooms.

The Golden Trio entered the Marauder's quarters quietly just before dinnertime in case Remus was still resting and found the werewolf sitting on one of the couches reading. They quickly settled around him, inquiring as to how he felt and could they get him anything.

Smiling affectionately at his favorite students, he replied, "I am well, thank you all. A little on the tired side still, but that is to be expected." Sirius and Severus joined them so he could explain last night's incident.

"I really can't explain how it felt, except that Moony suddenly saw Sev as a danger to Harry with the needle. You know he considers Harry the cub of his packmate Prongs and he tends to be extremely protective of those he recognizes as part of his pack. That's why when we first went outside, Moony was sniffing around Harry, checking his scent; he knew that it was James' son joining us." Remus took a deep breath, "I'm very sorry to have frightened all of you so much. I was controlling Moony's emotions enough that he wouldn't have attacked or bitten anyone, but he was convinced that Sev was going to hurt his cub."

"Well," Snape groused, "I supposed I will just have to have Harry change when we're not around Moony so I can draw some blood for the tests I need to run."

"Whenever you want, sir," Harry offered.

"Perhaps later this evening, then. I don't want to try to do it with several hundred students milling around the castle, poking their noses where they don't belong, looking for mischief."

The three kids looked at each other and grinned, knowing he meant them. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were trouble looking for a place to happen and when it did, you could place bets on the amount of damage that would follow.

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After dinner, Sev beckoned the Boy Who Lived to follow him to his private lab and locked the door behind them, "Just in case someone decides to go feral on my rear again." He pulled out the necessary materials and placed them on the counter top, cleared a space large enough, then motioned to Harry to change in the allotted area.

The boy did so, relishing in the feel of this form. Knowing he was in close quarters, Harry kept his wings tight to his sides and refrained from swishing his tail so he didn't inadvertently knock anything over. His potions master placed one warm hand against his neck and warned him just before he slipped the needle into a vein. When he was done, a simple spell closed the tiny hole and the man stepped away.

Before he could change back, Snape asked him to hold the form, "There is something I would like for you to try if you would, Harry." The unicorn bobbed his head. "I'm going to place a bucket of water on the floor in front of you and I would like for you to dip your horn into it for me."

He eyed the tall man nervously; unsure of what he was expecting at first, then Harry remembered his studies on unicorns and their ability to clean waters that had been fouled by poisons. Once again, he nodded his head and waited for Severus to place the water before him. When the man stepped back, Harry dropped his graceful head and immersed his horn, not sure what to expect, but willing to try most anything at least once.

Severus nearly got whacked in the head when Harry lifted his horn from the water, he was suddenly hovering so close. Startled, the equine snorted a warning as he jerked back away from what his senses instinctively perceived as a threat. His silver hooves rang loudly against the stone floor as he tried to maintain his balance in the small space and instinctively his wings extended to keep him upright. Glass bottles and vials fell to the floor and shattered, releasing noxious fumes, some splashing across the winged unicorn, adding to his distress. He vaguely remembered being told that sometimes an animagus was overwhelmed by the powers and abilities of their form, which could lead to confusion for the person as their knowledge of certain things could be influenced by the animal's instincts. Harry struggled internally to overcome his unicorn's natural fear of having someone almost right on top of him and the need to get away.

"Harry! Hold still, you foolish child, you're only going to make it worse! Let me get this cleared out so I can see what the damage is," Sev cried.

Anguished over nearly hitting the teacher, in pain from the myriad liquids saturating his now sweat-streaked hide, horrified at the mess he'd made, and upset by the professor's ire, the black mythological creature tossed his head and emitted a strange cry. Pressing himself tightly against the wall, wings again folded in close, he continued his soft distress call.

Vanishing the mess and clearing the dangerous vapors swiftly, Severus then turned his attentions to the young animagus, "Harry, child, listen to me, hear my voice, everything will be alright." He knew that when he chose to use it, Sev had a wonderfully soothing voice, and right now, he absolutely had to get the equine under control so he could treat him. He flinched when the silver horn scraped harshly against the wall, not damaging the horn, but it left a nice gash in the stone, "Come now, Harry, everything's fine, but I need you to change back for me, can you do that?"

Large green eyes rolled fretfully as the unicorn blew hard to get himself together. Finally, with a soft pop, the black shape was replaced by a small fourteen year old who continued to lean hard into the wall, wishing he could just disappear.

Immediately running a diagnostic spell to check the damage, Sev cast an _accio _for the potions and salves he needed to ease the boy's pain from the burns he'd acquired. A flick of his wand unlocked the door and another movement conjured a patronus that slipped silently away. Within minutes, the door was opened by Sirius who carried with him a change of clothing and a scowl.

"What happened?"

"Explanations can wait, calm the child down so I can treat him. You're probably the only one who can at this point."

Glowering at his friend for a moment, Sirius slowly approached the shivering teen, "Harry, pup? It's just me; can I come closer?" The boy nodded jerkily and the man moved to his side, slipping one hand across his shoulder in a soothing manner, "Look at me, Harry, please, I need to know you're aware of your environment."

Green eyes lifted to meet concerned grey, then darted to look at Snape, before dropping back to the floor, "I'm sorry, professor, I didn't mean to panic like that."

Sev, moving cautiously so Harry could see him coming, stepped closer and held out the potions and salves he carried. When he was given a nod of consent, he held out the pain reliever to drink and began to apply the lotion to the burns. The boy's pants were in tatters from the chemicals that had burned their way through to the skin beneath and there were holes in his shirt from where some had splashed across his torso.

As the pain eased, Harry straightened up more so his teacher could get to him easier and watched the angry red burns grow lighter and gradually disappear.

Kneeling in front of the young wizard so he could treat his legs, Sev softly asked, "Harry, can you tell me what happened?"

Knowing he was sure to get in trouble for losing control, Harry sighed, "As I was raising my head from the bucket you had me purifying, I didn't realize you were so close and nearly hit you. Suddenly, all I could think about was that there was someone too close and I had to get away." His eyes flickered around the cleaned room, "I freaked out and tried to move away, but there was no place to go, and I stupidly spread my wings, which of course knocked everything over and just made it all that much worse."

Snape rose and caught the boy's chin so he could look into his eyes, "Harry, this was not your fault. I was so engrossed in my experiment of seeing if you had a unicorn's _powers_ I forgot about a unicorn's _fear_ of being captured and enclosed. You are still very young, though you have the maturity of someone far beyond your years, and it is natural for you to not have complete control as yet."

Tightening his hold slightly on the teenager's thin shoulder, Sirius spoke up, "It sounds to me like both of you need to have a keeper present when you want to turn into a mad scientist in the future." A glare from his friend and a faint smile from his ward encouraged him, "In fact, I think that you should have Moony sit in on your little projects in the future."

"Not funny in the least, Black," Sev snarled, knowing just how close the werewolf had come last night to taking a chunk out of him.

Harry, however, was chuckling softly at the picture he had in his mind of Snape trying to conduct one of his tests and the wolf leaping at him in defense of his cub.

Having accomplished his goal of lifting the boy's spirits and settling his friend down a bit, Sirius handed over the clothes he'd brought, "Get changed, Harry, and we'll vanish your trashed ones and make up some story to keep Remus from going savage on Sev for upsetting you."

As the two men turned their backs to give him a little privacy, Harry murmured, "But it could be so much fun..."

Severus Snape gave a long suffering sigh. This was going to be a long year.

And so ends part 2.

I'm not sure how quickly I will have part 3 up; I'm having minor surgery Sept. 1 and may be laid up for a few days.

In the meantime, here is a challenge for all you wonderful readers: I'm looking for nicknames for the Golden Trio to use for their animagus forms. Keep in mind the following:

Remus = werewolf = Moony (pretty self-explanatory)

Sirius = large black grim-like dog = Padfoot (these are magical black dogs of legend that guard churchyards and roam the countryside at night. They are very fast and huge.)

Severus = large black panther = Onyx (a semi-precious variety of agate with different colors in layers, often very dark in shading. Sev certainly has a lot of layers to his personality)

Ron = medium sized Irish setter = very loyal, usually sweet-natured and enthusiastic, but can "play deaf" when they don't want to listen to something.

Hermione = Brown-necked Raven = fairly large birds, highly intelligent, mate for life, can be very playful, and have a large number of vocalizations

Harry = Black unicorn with wings = intelligent, loyal, devoted to the care of those it allows into it's circle of friends, fast, powerful, magical in nature.

If you have any suggestions, please send me a message with your idea for names and why you think it would be a good one. My muse and I will review all names and decide the winners to publish later in the story.

Deadline for name entrants will be Sept. 10, 2009.

Happy reading!

Nikani


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

Though the Golden Trio were unable to join their peers on the Hogwart's Express this year, they still met their friends at the entrance to the Great Hall as everyone filed in. Settling into their seats at the Gryffindor table, everyone chattered away happily about some of the good things they could share about their summer.

The new firsties were escorted in by Professor McGonagall and took their place in front of the teacher's table, which had a surprising number of empty seats. The Sorting Hat rang in the new school year with a song that spoke of unifying the Houses to stand together against the coming darkness. Once it was done terrifying the new students, the Hat began its duty of calling out the Houses each new child was assigned to; and then was placed in an anteroom off the Great Hall.

Dumbledore rose, his eye-catching robe of lime green with bright yellow stars drawing everyone's attention, "Welcome! Welcome, my dear students, to another school year! I promise that this will be a year for you to remember, for there are many surprises in store for you."

That certainly got everyone's attention. Even the Weasley twins stopped their plotting and planning to stare up at the old wizard.

"The first surprise is this…The Tri-Wizard Tournament has come to Hogwarts…" The explosion of noise from the gathered children briefly overwhelmed Albus as cheers and clapping echoed through the room. Once it quieted down again, he went on, "And as such, I will need to focus my energies on the competition and will not be able to properly care for the school as a headmaster should. Therefore, Professor McGonagall will be Headmistress for this school term and her Deputy Headmaster will be none other than our own potions master, Severus Snape."

At first, complete silence reigned in the Hall as shock seeped into the crowd. Then, the Slytherins began to pound on their table and cheer as their Head of House entered from the main doors and made his way up to the teacher's table to seat himself beside Minerva. The other three Houses were in shock and horrified at the thought of what a power-mad Snape could do to them now that he was deputy of the school!

Holding up his arms for silence, Albus continued, "Since Professor McGonagall will be otherwise occupied with her new duties, I have temporarily filled her position as Transfiguration professor with a new face, Mr. Sirius Black! And returning to fill the post as Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, is Mr. Remus Lupin."

As the two men made their way up the aisle to the head table, the Great Hall was again in an uproar. Most everyone was cheering for the return of their favorite DADA professor, a few were shrieking about having a werewolf there, and others were going on about Sirius Black, ex-convict, being in the school at all, let alone as a mentor to students!

"Professor Black will be the Head of Gryffindor House this term while Professor Lupin will be assisting Professor Snape with the Slytherins," Dumbledore concluded. "So, now that we have made this a memorable beginning to the new year, everyone, tuck in!"

The food appeared on the tables and the noise in the room continued unabated even as people were busily stuffing themselves. The Golden Trio gleefully hugged their personal knowledge of the changes to themselves, they were aware that things were going to be different this year. They just didn't know HOW different.

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Sirius handed out the schedules to his Gryffindors the next morning over breakfast, fielding questions as they came at him from all sides, ruffling his godson's already messy hair as he passed, and soothing the fears of a couple of eleven year olds. Over at the Slytherin table, Remus was engaged in a similar activity, though some of kids from that house were obviously fearful of him. Others, remembering how good a teacher he had been the previous year, were glad to have him back so they could actually learn something again. Previous DADA professors had been very incompetent and it was good to have one who knew what he was doing.

Ron made a face, "Double Potions to start the year? Ouch!"

"Oh, Ron, you know it won't be like it was before," Hermione admonished softly. "Just pay attention and do the work, he'll grade you fairly; act out and screw up, well, you'll get what you deserve."

Their dark haired friend chuckled at their by-play before catching his godfather's sleeve, "So, Siri, do you know when the other two schools are supposed to get here?"

Glancing around to make sure no one was paying them any attention, the man leaned a little closer, "Nothing for certain, probably in about two weeks though." He straightened up, "I see that I have fourth years in my second class today. You three had best be on good behavior unless you want to serve detention."

The red head of the group stared up at him with such a look of wounded betrayal the others laughed. Realizing the older wizard was only teasing Ron groused, "Not nice to do that, not so early in the morning at least."

Stuffing down his last mouthful of eggs and grabbing a couple of more pieces of bacon, Harry stood up, "You two ready?"

Hermione nodded as she also rose and gathered up her bag; Ron scooped up a piece of toast with some sausages to go, grabbed his books, and they were off to the first class of the new year.

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Thanking whatever deity was listening, the young lions realized that their Potions class wasn't going to be with the snakes this year, instead they were paired up with Hufflepuff. Although they felt sorry for the Ravenclaws, the teenagers were glad to have the respite this term from the constant bickering that went on.

Right on time, the door swung open and the kids hurried to their seats, Seamus and Dean sat at the front table, Ron and Harry behind them, and Hermione with Neville behind them. They had just gotten their books, parchments, quills, and summer homework out when their teacher swept into the room.

Standing in front of the class, Severus Snape looked the group over with critical black eyes; mentally making notes on whether or not the current pairings were going to work or not. Deciding that they would, he stepped out from behind his desk and stood beside Harry's table, "Tell me, Mr. Potter, what would I use a bezoar for?"

Startled at the question, which harkened back to his first year and the horrible introduction he'd gotten to Potions class, Harry responded, "It can be used to protect a person from most poisons, sir."

"And where would I find it?"

"The stomach of a goat, sir."

"What is another name for aconite?"

"Wolfsbane, sir, and also called monkshood because of the shape of the flowers."

"Excellent, Mr. Potter, thirty points to Gryffindor," Snape ignored the stunned looks and gasps of shock from the rest of the class. "Your potion for the day is on the board," he flicked his hand at the appropriate cupboards, "try not to make a mess of my stores, if you would." He made his way back to his desk, turned to see most everyone still gaping at him (Harry, Ron, and Hermione were the only ones actually moving to collect what they needed and set up), and snapped, "Well, do I need to hold your hands and show you the way?"

That was the snarky teacher they knew! Quickly, one person from each pairing went to the cupboards to gather the needed items as their partner set up the cauldron and flames. In short order, everyone was occupied with dicing, slicing, peeling, crushing, and mixing their Memory Potions as Snape made his way silently around the room. Pausing on occasion at one table or another, he made suggestions on how to improve this one because the color was too bright, or that one needed an additional small Jobberknoll feather to strengthen it. When he paused by Hermione and Neville's table, the boy nearly had a heart attack when they were given a nod of approval.

Turning to Ron and Harry, he picked up their stirrer and tested the consistency of their brew, "Good color, a tad on the thin side, but just as potent. Well done." He wended his way back towards his desk saying, "Bottle your potion with your names on it and leave it on the desk, then you may clean up and go."

Harry did the bottling and delivered it to the desk as ordered where he was greeted with a faint smirk and wink from the potions master. He flashed a quick smile in return before helping Ron with cleaning up their table.

They were still laughing over the look on Neville face when he was given a passing grade on the potion when they stepped into the Transfiguration classroom. It was a bit strange to walk in and not see their graying deputy headmistress at the front of the room, but they were happy to find a handsome smiling Sirius Black waiting for them.

"How was your first class?" Padfoot asked, and then laughed as they chattered over each other to tell him how things had gone. "Well, it sounds like Sev's done a complete turn around this year, huh?"

Neville was nodding enthusiastically, "I just hope it lasts, I might actually learn something this year."

"You mean other than how to blow things up?" Ron teased him with a light poke to the shoulder.

The other boy grinned, "If Professor Snape is actually nice in class and we don't have to deal with Slytherins, I think I can do better than create muggle dynamite."

The rest of the class was trickling in and they assumed seats right up front, especially since some of the kids were obviously nervous about the whole ex-convict thing in their teacher's past. Some of the girls were oohing and aahing over his good looks, while others were convinced that he was a murderer who'd somehow managed to scam the system.

Sirius quickly got down to business, "Alright, you lot, settle down. This is a mixed class of all four houses and I very much would like to see it succeed. If you prove to me that you're going to do your best and actually make an effort, I will reward that with points. But if you think that I'm a pushover or that because you're a pure-blood," and here his grey eyes fixed on Draco Malfoy, "you can try to get one over on me, rest assured that I'm not, and you will regret it." The blond boy gave him a faint nod of acknowledgement.

"I'm here to teach you Transfiguration, but I also believe that you need to have a little fun in order to do it. For example, Professor McGonagall suggested we work on turning white mice blue." He held up a white mouse and with a casual wave of his wand and murmured incantation it turned a lovely shade of sky blue. Several students applauded and he waved the accolades away, "I, however, find that turning mice different colors is boring." Sirius Black faced his class with a bright smile, "So here's what you're going to do instead…"


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry it's taken so long for me to post part 4, it's been a really long week!

Part 4

When the interim Headmistress joined the staff at the head table for dinner, she nearly fell over when she saw the new hair decorating many of her students. Instead of the usual varying shades of black, brown, blond, and red, there were now suddenly blue, green, purple, pink, and some colors that simply defied definition. Minerva turned on Sirius, ready to flay him with the sharp edge of her tongue when he beat her to the punch.

"Really, Minerva, you didn't tell me just how bright and quick your students were. I don't know that I've ever seen someone catch on as quickly as the fourth years did in class today, you've done a marvelous job with them."

She studied him for a long moment, taking in the pink, neon yellow, and orange hair where his usually black locks hung and nodded decisively at him, "Serves you right." She then settled into her seat and tapped the table for the food to appear.

Severus was trying to drown his snickers in his goblet of wine while Remus had to take care with his chewing so he didn't choke to death on his laughter. Through it all, Sirius calmly ate his dinner as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened; though every time he looked at his godson and friends, he nearly lost control over his own bubbling sense of humor.

Grinning like loons, the kids were telling everyone else at their table all about their Transfiguration class and the fun they'd had. Ron's hair, normally carrot red, was now a deep shade of purple; Hermione's bushy brown mane was white as snow; and Harry's messy mop now matched his emerald eyes.

Even at the Slytherin table, varying colors of hair stood out among the fourth years. Most obvious of all was Draco, who had gone from being a pale blond to having coal black hair with orange tips. When Snape had first caught sight of the boy, he'd demanded to know who'd hexed him. Draco assured him that he hadn't been hexed, it had been part of his class and he actually liked what had been done.

Sirius had the kids draw lots to see who got to transfigure whom, and it was pretty obvious that Hermione had gotten Draco from the tipping done to his new hair color. No one else in the class had gotten that much detail out of their spells, though they'd all had a blast trying.

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By the next morning, everyone appeared to be back to normal, at least when it came to their hair color, and over breakfast they were still talking about the fun in Transfiguration. The Weasley twins had the class later that day and were very much looking forward to trying out some pranks on the new professor. Little did they know what, or rather who, they were up against.

Hurrying in to Sirius' class that afternoon, the twins found it empty. After exchanging gleeful grins, they quickly set about putting their prank in place. It was really quite simple, but ever so much fun: All the man had to do was touch his chair, walk away, and it would change into an animated wooden dog to chase him around the room. It would be a perfectly priceless moment in their careers as jokesters.

Sure enough, Sirius entered the room once all the students were in, did roll call, and began his lecture on how his classes would run. He paused behind his desk and lightly rested his hand on the back of his chair as he set the parchment he'd been carrying down. Fred and George leaned forward in eager anticipation as the man walked away from his chair to write on the chalkboard. As planned, the chair popped into a shape of a brown wooden dog and began barking and running after Black.

Without warning, the desk abruptly transformed into a gigantic lion which promptly ate the wooden dog, belched out a couple of splinters, and changed back.

Complete silence reigned in the classroom as the twins stared at the desk, almost afraid that it was going to come alive again and come after them. Sirius finished what he'd been writing and turned to face the students, "Now that we have that out of the way, let me make one thing very, very clear. Are you all listening?" Obedient heads bobbed up and down as one, "Good. If you think that you can get away with playing pranks on me, you will quickly find out that it will backfire. If you persist, you will find yourself taking part in your own prank as the butt of the joke. Everyone understand?" More bobbing of heads ensued and Sirius went on with his lesson.

By the end of class, everyone had robes of different colors to go along with altered skin hues and was ecstatic over the fun they'd had. As they gathered up their things to leave, Professor Black dismissed the class, except for the twins. Seating himself on his desk, Sirius eyed the two boys as he waited for the rest of students to leave, then he closed the door with a wave of his hand.

"What I'm about to tell you two goes no further than this room, do you understand? If you share this information with anyone, I will know and you will not like my reaction." Waiting until they had nodded at him, he continued, "I know that you were the ones who set up that little fiasco with the chair, and while I applaud your abilities and sense of humor, I caution you to be careful who you sic your creations on. Someone of my own abilities can make your lives very difficult if you started a prank war, whereas your peers don't have the power or knowledge that I do. Moony is another one you need to avoid setting up for a prank war…"

"Wait, wait, you said Moony? You know who Moony is?" Fred demanded.

He slanted them an amused look, "Of course I know who Moony is, I'm the one who gave him the nickname."

The twins exchanged eager looks and turned back to their teacher, "And Wormtail and Padfoot and Prongs?"

A dark cloud passed briefly over the man's elegant features, "Wormtail was Peter Pettigrew, former friend." He tapped his chest, "I'm Padfoot, and Prongs was James." Sirius chuckled at the looks on their faces. Harry had shared with him the Marauders Map and how he came to be in possession of it; so Sirius was inclined to be generous to the Weasley boys.

"The Marauders," George whispered, "You were one of the Marauders."

"No," Sirius corrected, "I AM one of the Marauders. Moony is Remus, so named for his furry little problem once a month, so there are still two of us. Peter can't be counted since he turned on us, the little bas…er…traitor. We now have some mini-Marauders with Harry, Ron, and Hermione whom we are trying to sculpt into our own image."

The boys shared another look before dropping to their knees and raising their hands in supplication, "Please, please, take us under your wing and teach us your ways!"

Sirius laughed outright; sometimes power was a wonderful thing! "From what my godson has told me, the two of you have done some marvelous pranks in your time here at Hogwarts. Nothing quite as grand as our own yet, but you still have time. We can teach you some things to help you with developing your own ideas, and Harry tells me you're interested in opening your own joke shop someday?" They nodded, "I would like to see your plans for something like that on paper so I know where you stand and what you have in mind for your future."

The Weasleys left, heads still spinning from the revelation laid at their feet today. Sirius had changed into Padfoot and explained the reasons for what they'd done. He also let them in on the secret of teaching the Golden Trio to become animagi, prompting more begging and pleading to learn as well. He'd told them that he would discuss it with the current Marauders and get back to them, but until then, they were to be on good behavior.

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Class with Remus was just as fun for the fourth years as it had been last year. Lupin made things enjoyable, brought hands-on experiences for the kids, and his knowledge was indisputable. They had a free afternoon after Defense so the three teens decided to take advantage of the lovely day and went outside to sit by the lake to do their homework. After talking Dobby into a picnic basket lunch, they settled under a large tree along the shore and ate while they talked about their classes so far and what they hoped to get out of the classes yet to come.

Hermione was the first to pull out her parchment and potions book and with sighs of regret, her friends did the same. Stretching out on the soft green grass, a light breeze blowing over them from the water, and the gentle sounds of the lake lapping against the shore, all three were relaxed and content. Just being with his friends helped Harry feel secure, and knowing that his guardians were close at hand made everything right in his little corner of the world.

They stayed out by the lake until almost dinnertime, proud of having gotten all of the homework done for potions and transfiguration, and they had also gotten a good start on their defense as well. None of them were looking forward to History the next morning, though they had Herbology in the afternoon to anticipate. Gentle Professor Sprout always had good classes where you were able to get dirty and learn at the same time.

Gathering their things up, the trio began to make their way back up the lawns to the castle, spotting another trio heading in their direction. Surprised, they recognized the Marauders and were concerned that something had happened in their absence.

Sirius was the first to reach them and caught Harry by the shoulders, "Where have you been?"

Startled by his godfather's anxiety, Harry took hold of the man's black sleeves, "We've been down at the lake doing homework. Why? What's wrong? No one told us we shouldn't or couldn't!"

Pulling the child into his chest, Sirius gave him a hug, "None of you were at lunch and the other Gryffindors didn't know where you went. I left word for you in the common room to come see me and when you never showed up, we got worried."

There was something more going on; Harry could sense it. Whether it was due to his new abilities as an animagus, or his closeness to his godfather, he knew something had happened. Pulling away from the embrace, he looked up into the grey eyes, "Sirius, what is it?"

Ron and Hermione, hearing the tone to his voice, and picking up on the tenseness of the three men surrounding them, moved closer to their friend.

Sirius dropped to one knee and stared at the grass for a moment before lifting his gaze to meet Harry's, "There's no easy way to say this, pup. I wish there were; I wish I didn't have to tell you at all, but you have a right to know…"

"For Merlin's sake, Padfoot," Severus hissed, "stop dragging it out and making it worse. Just tell the boy."

The kneeling wizard heaved a deep sigh and caught Harry's hands in his, "Harry, we received word just before lunch…your aunt's house…there was an attack. Death Eaters went in…there was no one left alive. I'm sorry, pup."

Frozen where he stood, his mind whirling in shock and horror, Harry didn't know what to say or do. Sure his aunt had hated him his entire life and made him miserable, but she was the sister of his mother. And Dudley. He may have been a royal pain and mean to Harry every chance he got, but he was still his cousin. Uncle Vernon…oh no, not Uncle Vernon! The one person who had ever been kind to the orphaned boy, the only one who made sure he got something to eat when he aunt denied him, the only person who hadn't called him a freak every chance he got and who had tried to protect him as best he could from Petunia's rages. Gone.

He stiffened his spine abruptly and pulled his hands away from Sirius' tender grip. Turning away from the group he took several steps back towards the lake and focused his attention on the squid that had appeared and was lazily waving its tentacles to the sun. He took a deep breathe, let it out, and took another; then without turning around he stated, "I'd like some time alone, please."

True to form, Hermione started to take a breath and go to him, only to be caught gently by one shoulder as Snape's soft, silky voice sounded behind her, "Of course, Harry. We're here when you need us." He tugged on the girl's arm, ending her brief flare of mutiny with a look, and led her away.

Ron studied his friend for a moment before nodding, "Sure, mate, like the professor said, we're here when you're ready." He followed the potions master and Hermione with Remus beside him.

Harry walked back down to the lake and sat on a large rock jutting out over the water to think. He remembered the times with his uncle trying to protect him, his aunt and her constant fussing at him, his cousin and the times they spent playing "Harry hunting". He had very few good memories of his blood family, but they had BEEN his family, and now they were gone. Taken away from him by a bunch of monsters because they were related to him, the Boy Who Lived.

When he finally looked up from his contemplation of water ripples, Harry spotted a motionless black hulk seated beneath a tree nearby watching over him. When he nodded in acknowledgement, the huge dog trotted over to join him and changed back into his godfather, who offered a hug. Harry leaned into the now-welcome embrace and sighed, "At least I'm not alone any more. I have you and Remus and Professor Snape, as well as Ron and Hermione."

"Of course you have us, and we'll always be here to raise your spirits up as best we can. I know you feel guilty and angry over their deaths, pup, but it wasn't your fault. Blame Voldemort, not yourself."

"I know, Siri, but it's still hard. Even though my aunt and cousin hated me, they were still related to me through my mother. But it's Uncle Vernon that actually hurts most; he's the one who was kind to me and tried his best even though he was only related by marriage."

Carding his long fingers through Harry's black mop, his godfather tried hard to be objective, "Not all blood relatives are good, pup. Look at most of mine; blacker than our name and followers of the dark arts. But even among the evil ones, sometimes one or two breaks the mold and shows the world a things or two." He hugged the boy tighter, "You are pure light, Harry, despite what your aunt always told you. You radiate love and goodness, neither of which she was able to handle or understand."

Harry's arms gripped his godfather's waist in an answering squeeze as he whispered, "But you do."

A low chuckle rumbled in the chest he was pressed against, "Yes, I do; despite the years in Azkaban, I can still see and rejoice in the love and light I have in you. I sometimes wonder what would have happened to me if you had been different or, Merlin forbid, dead when I broke out. I think I would have gone mad with grief and would never have recovered."

"I love you, Siri."

"I love you, too, pup."


	5. Chapter 5

Part 5

Later that evening, the kids were gathered in the Gryffindor common room putting the final touches on their Defense homework when the portrait swung open and their Head of House stepped in. Every eye in the room was instant fixed on Sirius as he paused by the doorway and skimmed the gathered lions. When he spotted Harry, he made a slight beckoning motion with one finger, nodding at the teen's friends when they rose with him. He left the House without a word, something that made the children within more than a little nervous, believing that something terrible must have happened.

Holding the door open just enough for the three to slip out and join him, Sirius shut it firmly behind them and grinned at the small group, "They're going to be occupied for hours trying to figure out what's going on."

The trio joined in his laughter, knowing full well that he was right, before Hermione asked, "So what IS going on?"

He sighed, "Dumbledore wants to know if you, Harry want to go to the funeral in two days or if you'd rather not. If you don't want to go, it's perfectly alright and I will be happy to take you there another time so you can say your farewells privately."

The teen studied his godfather for a moment, then inquired, "If I go, it'll be a big production, won't it? The aurors, ministry, and reporters will all be there and turn it into some kind of circus, on top of the very real possibility that Voldemort's followers will do everything they can to grab me."

Resting his hand lightly on the boy's shoulder, the dark haired man sighed, "Harry, you know I won't lie to you; yes, if you go, the aurors will need to be there to help protect you, as will Remus, Severus, and I, plus the ministry will send officials to 'mark' the occasion of the deaths of the family of the boy who lived. And yes, reporters will make every attempt to mob you and get pictures of you in your time of grief." He gently gripped the thin shoulder, "And of course Voldemort won't let this kind of an opportunity pass by."

"Well, since you put it that way, I think I'll take you up on your offer to visit the graves at a later time, after all the furor dies down."

"Whenever you want, Harry, just say the word."

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Three days later, the papers came out with a screaming headline and article done by none other than Rita Skeeter:

**BOY WHO LIVED DESERTS FAMILY IN TIME OF NEED!!!**

_Only a few short days ago, the Muggle family who graciously took in little Harry Potter after his wonderful parents were ruthlessly slaughtered by You-Know-Who was cut down in the prime of their lives. _

_Death Eaters swarmed the quaint little house in the quiet suburbs of Little Winging in the dark of night searching for their prey. According to this reporter's personal sources, the caring aunt of Harry Potter, a delightful woman named Petunia Dursley, fought valiantly and bravely against the cruel and evil wizards who were looking for information on her beloved nephew. Enduring hours of unbelievable torture, Mrs. Dursley never broke and refused to give any information concerning her dear nephew._

_The final blow was delivered when she was forced to watch as Death Eaters first tormented and abused her only child, a beautiful little boy named Dudley, and then snuffed out his life with the Killing Curse. Hysterical with grief over the senseless death of her son, the valiant woman berated the evil wizards who had invaded her home, telling them that they would never be able to hurt her darling Harry. She sacrificed her own life in order to protect the boy who lived. She refused to tell them anything about who his friends are or any other family he may have to care for him. Petunia Dursley fulfilled her vow to her cherished sister, Lily Potter, and kept the boy safe._

_And in spite of this wondrous gift, in spite of love and care lavished upon him by this family who took him in after the deaths of his parents, in spite of everything they've done for him…Harry Potter did not even have the decency to attend the funerals of his family._

_They were laid to rest in a quiet cemetery near where they had lived for so many years, alone; without the presence and tears of the child they had taken in more than ten years before. Harry Potter did not attend the service, the funeral, and didn't even send flowers to mark their passing. _

_These wonderful people cared for him, loved him, took him in, and even died for him, and Harry Potter couldn't be bothered to even show up to bury them._

_So I ask you, my faithful readers, is this the person we should be encouraging our children to look up to as a hero for destroying You-Know-Who? _

Harry had been sitting at the Gryffindor table for breakfast when the owls started delivering the paper to everyone. Hermione, who was seated beside him and across from Ron, opened hers, saw the headline, and grabbed Harry's arm, "Out of here, now! Get to the Marauder's quarters!" She rose, still holding onto her friend's arm, and began rushing him out of the Great Hall as a murmur began to break out.

At the head table, the three men were seated together with Sirius in the middle, which turned out to be a blessing, because when he saw the headline, he was on his feet with a roar of fury that instantly silenced the room. Remus and Severus caught hold of his arms from either side and physically dragged him out one of the side doors by their table while Minerva cast a silencing spell to prevent the horrendous language spewing form his mouth from being heard by the children. Once he was safely out of the Hall, they let him go so he could burn himself out privately with them before they took him to Harry.

Racing to the quarters shared by his family, Harry demanded to know what was in the paper that had them running for privacy. When Hermione told them, both boys stopped dead in the middle of the corridor and stared at her in stunned disbelief. Finally, Harry held out his hand for the paper she still carried and began skimming through it as his friends guided him along. He was still reading it to them when they reached the safety of the Marauder's quarters and Ron hissed the password to get them inside.

Hermione and Ron shared a large chair by the fireplace as they watched and listened to their best friend as he paced furiously and ranted about the different parts Skeeter had written.

"'GRACIOUSLY took me in? CARING aunt? DELIGHTFUL woman? BELOVED and DEAR nephew? Her DARLING Harry and CHERISHED sister?' Who in HELL did this woman talk to?!" Harry's rage was a palpable thing, almost with a life of its own as he continued to rage. They never noticed when the door opened and they were joined by the three men who stopped just inside the room. Harry went on, so engrossed in his frenzy, he seemed lost to everything else, "'Love and care lavished upon him, everything they've done for him, cared for him, loved him, took him in, and even died for him.' This is CRAP! Pure hogwash!! How dare she print such lies about me and that family? And to say that I don't have any decency because I didn't show up? THEY HATED ME!! IF SHE'D KNOWN WHAT TO TELL THEM, SHE WOULD HAVE!!!!!"

Pictures on the wall began to shudder, furniture began to vibrate, and it seemed as if the very floors and walls around them were showing signs of stretching and contracting with the fury radiating off the child. Severus was shocked. Hogwarts was impregnated with the ability to absorb any accidental magic children learning to use their powers occasionally experienced; this should not be possible.

Harry threw back his head and let out a scream that blended together his anger, grief, outrage, and hurt before he hurled the paper into the fire, tears streaming down his face. Various objects around the room exploded as the magical backlash ripped through the contained area and the three men swiftly erected shields over themselves and the other two children.

When Harry began to collapsed, drained by the outburst of magic and emotion, Sirius was there to catch him and lowered both of them to the floor as he cradled the boy to his chest. Remus attended to Ron and Hermione who were extremely distressed while Sev hurried to his private lab to gather all necessary potions. Returning to the common room, he swiftly administered a calming draught to Harry followed by a sleeping potion. The other two teens were given anti-shock potions while Sirius lifted Harry to lay on one of the couches with his head pillowed on his godfather's leg. The dark haired man tenderly carded his fingers through the messy black locks as he attempted to sooth not only the child, but himself as well.

Once everyone was calmer, Remus fire-called Minerva and asked her to see if she could get hold of Albus and both of them come to their quarters. The woman told them she had already done so, and he had in fact just arrived. The werewolf stepped aside and allowed the older witch and wizard to step through.

"Dear me," Dumbledore whispered as he observed the destruction littering the room. "He was able to do all this?"

"Yes," the potion master responded in a subdued manner. "Isn't Hogwarts supposed to be able to control outbursts so things like this don't happen?"

The old man was nodding, "Yes, yes, of course she is; however, it appears as if Harry's rage was more than even she could deal with. I will need to do some reading on the subject to determine what, if anything can be done to prevent this in the future."

"Until then," Remus spoke up from he was seated on the arm of the chair by the two teens, "what are we going to do about Rita Skeeter and her little article in today's paper?"

The normally twinkling blue eyes were flat and cold as they settled on the now sleeping boy with tear-stained cheeks, "Have no fear of that front, my boy, I will deal with her myself." Everyone could feel the crackle of power surround the great wizard and even Harry, deep in a potion induced slumber, twitched slightly.


	6. Chapter 6

Part 6

That very evening during dinner, a special edition of the paper was delivered to everyone that not only retracted the earlier story, but its headlines announced:

**RITA SKEETER CAUGHT IN A WEB OF LIES!!**

_It was falsely reported this morning that young Harry Potter, the boy who lived, refused to attend the funerals of his family, slaughtered a couple of days ago by Death Eaters. We have been informed that he chose not to attend in order to make sure that they were laid to rest with respect, and not with ministry officials, aurors, and reporters swarming the cemetery. We have also discovered that Ms. Skeeter did NOT have a source of information on the family as she claimed. Interviews conducted by various other reporters on our staff with neighbors, teachers, and employees where Mr. Dursley worked reveal a very different side to the story._

_It seems that Harry Potter's aunt, Petunia Dursley, was not happy in the least to take in her nephew after the deaths of James and Lily Potter. She so resented him, that she ignored his very presence in their lives as much as possible. Her son, Dudley, who was the same age as Harry, was encouraged to humiliate his cousin repeatedly, both at home and in school. In speaking with teachers from their primary school, we have discovered that young Mr. Potter was quite brilliant in class, but they were told repeated by Mrs. Dursley that he was a truant, liar, and dangerous child. All of which were false._

_After our investigation into the real story behind this family and Mr. Potter, this newspaper came to the decision to release Ms. Skeeter from our employ and issue a public apology to Harry Potter for the damage the story printed this morning caused. We will also be sending out a personal apology as well as making restitution for our error. We extend our thanks to a wizard who wishes to remain anonymous for informing us of the error made and for his assistance in removing Ms. Skeeter from the premises, quite forcibly…_

Hermione and Ron tapped on the door to the Marauder's quarters in order to bring them this piece of information and found their friend and the three men enjoying a quiet evening at home. Remus and Severus were seated at their respective desks in the common room plowing their way through large stacks of homework while Sirius was seated beside Harry on the floor with the coffee table pulled up in front of them as they looked over some books.

The door swung open on its own to admit the teens and they headed for the two on the floor with the paper extended as Ron announced, "They fired the little bi…"

"RON!" Hermione chastised loudly.

Remembering that he was in a roomful of teachers, his jaw snapped shut on the rest of the word he was about to get in trouble over and muttered an apology. The girl handed over the paper to Sirius who had reached behind Harry's head to accept it. He opened it so the boy could follow along with him even as he read out loud for the other two men to know the contents. He had just finished the article when the headmaster appeared in their fire asking if he could come through.

Albus swept out of the fire, banished the soot marring his bright blue robes, and held up a letter addressed to Sirius and Harry. When his godfather nodded at him to take it, the boy rose and, after thanking the old wizard politely, opened it and began to read it out to everyone:

_Dear Mr. Black and Mr. Potter,_

_On behalf of the Daily Prophet, please accept our deepest apologies and regret over the article printed in this morning's edition of our paper. We were mortified when we discovered our error and realized just how terrible a picture that painted of you. We have printed a retraction and made a public apology, but we felt it proper to address our sorrow directly to you as well._

_As such, please know that Rita Skeeter has been terminated from our paper and her salary and benefits forfeited for her actions. We have contacted Gringott's Bank and had that money deposited into Mr. Black's account along with an additional five hundred galleons in recompense. We hope that this amount is satisfactory, but should it prove to not be enough, please contact us directly…_

"And it ends with a couple of names and the address to contact," Harry finished. He looked curiously over at the man still sprawled elegantly on the floor, "Why would they put it in your account and not mine?"

Stretching his arms up to ease a kink in his back, he then folded them behind his head as he smiled at Harry, "Because, pup, I'm your guardian and it wouldn't be proper to just hand it over to you, even if you're the one they wronged."

"Oh, okay." It wasn't that Harry really cared about the money, he had just be wondering why when he'd been taking care of his own finances since coming to Hogwarts. It was still a novel idea to have someone else be responsible not only for him personally, but also for buying anything he needed and providing for him in other ways. He set the letter down on the table and returned to his spot on the floor to lean against the larger man, "So do you think it's enough?"

Sirius dropped one arm to drape over the thin shoulders in a sideways hug even as Remus answered, "I would say it's quite fair, in all honesty."

Snape snorted into his cup of tea, "I would have been perfectly happy if they had just fired that woman for making up those horrid lies."

The canine animagus was nodding in agreement, "We'll set that money aside for something special to do at a later date." His facile mind was already working on something that he felt would be appropriate if Harry agreed, but that could wait. Sirius looked over at the other two children, "So did you come down to study with us as well, or just to bring the newspaper?"

Sliding out of the chair and onto the floor with them, Hermione asked, "What are you working on?" Ron groaned softly but followed her down and joined them.

Gazing around the room with a benign smile, Albus bid the group farewell and flooed back to his office. The next few hours were spent working on various homework assignments, conversation flowing back and forth freely between the teenagers and adults as questions were asked and answered. About half an hour before the kids were due to return to their tower, Dobby the house elf popped in with a large tray of tea for the adults and hot chocolate for the kids along with a plate of different cookies. When they were done, Sirius escorted them back to Gryffindor tower just in time for curfew.

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The following weekend brought the other two schools participating in the Tri-Wizard Tournament, causing Ron to alternate between drooling over the young ladies from the French school and stammering over the arrival of Viktor Krum. The visiting students were invited to join the House tables however they wished and everyone was stunned when Viktor immediately made his way to the Gryffindor table.

"May I join you and your friends, Harry?"

Room was instantly made as the teen responded, "Of course, Viktor, please do." As the older boy settled himself on the bench beside Harry, he was being introduced to those seated nearby. Some of the students were in awe of Krum, while others (mostly the girls) giggled over his dark good looks. Once the food was served, everyone quieted down to eat, though some conversations continued softly.

Once the Headmistress took note of where the visitors were fitting in, she made arrangements with the house elves to add beds to the appropriate dorms, though she did deem it better to have the older students bunk in with age mates, such as the case with Viktor. She didn't feel it would be good for him to share a room with Harry and Ron, so she placed him in with the other seventh year boys in Gryffindor.

After the meal of over, Dumbledore arrived with several dignitaries in tow and set up the Cup with its Age Line, "Those who wish to put their names in for consideration are to do so by the end of next week. Please remember that only students aged seventeen or above may participate."

Viktor turned to the boy seated next to him, "Are you unhappy that you vill be unable to compete?"

Shaking his head vehemently, Harry chuckled, "Absolutely not. It'll be nice to have a year where I can watch others do foolish things rather than do them myself. The last thing I want is to have to be a part of this tournament."

"Vhy? You are the boy who lived, you should be used to the celebrity that goes with it; you could be the Hogvarts Champion."

Hermione leaned over to answer the young man, "Harry hates being so well known. The last thing he would want is more publicity and this thing will be crawling with reporters who would pester him day and night."

He could only shake his head in wonder at someone not being interested in fame and the fortune to come with it.

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Time seemed to fly and the school was more than ready for the names to be drawn and the three Champions presented. It was no surprise that Viktor Krum was the first to be chosen by the Cup and he received congratulations from the young lions seated around him. When the Beauxbatons Champion was called, Ron began to drool again over the pretty Fleur Delacour who rose from the Hufflepuff table to make her way behind Krum to the anteroom with their mentors. The Cup shot out one more name and Cedric Diggory was cheered by his Hufflepuff friends as he joined the other two.

The other students were directed to return to their regular activities for the evening now that the excitement was over and the Golden Trio joined the Marauders in their quarters to do homework. It would have been impossible to do any work in the dorm or the library since everyone would be talking about the upcoming tasks and who they thought would emerge the winner at the end. All was quiet in the men's common room, the peace disturbed only by the occasion turning of pages and scratching of quills on parchment.

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One morning, about a week before the first task for the Champions, Harry's owl Hedwig swooped in to give him a letter and steal some bacon off his plate before leaping away. Harry opened the letter and found it was a note from Hagrid:

_Dear Harry,_

_If you're curious about the first task, come see me this evening and bring your invisibility cloak. I got something you'll love to see!_

_Hagrid_

Being careful not to let anyone see the note, he stashed it in his bag and went about the day as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. Classes were harder than ever and he found himself having to really work at it sometimes to understand some of the spells they were working on. Since Sev had gotten so much nicer and took the time to explain potions to the class, it seemed as if most everyone was more successful now. At least there was less cauldrons exploding.

After dinner, Harry told his friends he was running down to see his godfather to ask him about something and would be back in about an hour. He then told his godfather that he was going to be studying with his friends and not able to visit that evening. Once he was out of sight, the boy raced to the Gryffindor tower, up to his dorm, pulled out his cloak, and vanished. Moving cautiously through the castle, he made his way down to Hagrid's hut and found the huge man seated outside on the steps.

"Hagrid," he whispered, "I made it."

The half giant jumped about two feet, clutching his chest as Fang began his booming bark from inside, "Merlin, Harry! Don't do that!"

"Sorry, I was just trying to stay hidden."

Rising, the large man nodded, "And a good job you're doing at it, too. C'mon then and follow me. Stay close and stay quiet."

Following his teacher into a wooded section of the grounds, Harry felt as if he were passing through a bubble of sorts which Hagrid explained as an ancient form of magic that protected a large area. Sounds he hadn't heard while approaching were suddenly overwhelming and the teen grabbed the back of Hagrid's shirt in consternation.

They paused at the edge of the trees and the big man drew Harry out from behind him and pointed, "Looky there."

Still under the cloak, the young wizard's jaw dropped as he took in the sight before him. Three huge dragons, each a different species, were chained separate from each other and being fed by their keepers. A young man was caring for a Chinese Fireball that was almost the same color as his flaming red hair, "Is that Ron's brother?"

"Aye, that would be Charlie Weasley there with the Fireball. Helped bring the dragons over, he did, just for the Tournament."

Harry continued to watch in disbelief as the young man moved with calm deliberation around his charge, easily avoiding teeth, claws, and tail as well as the occasion burst of fire from the red dragon. Once the dragons were all fed, the many wizards gathered around and stunned them to sleep for safety's sake.

"C'mon, Harry, we need to be getting back."

Silently, the teen followed the half giant back to his hut where he pulled off the cloak, "Are they crazy bringing dragons onto the grounds for the Champions to face? What happens if they get out of control?"

Hagrid patted him on the back, nearly knocking him over, "No worries, Harry, those dragonkeepers are well trained in controlling those big beasties. The Champions will have to each face a dragon and get a golden egg from it which has their next clue to the second task."

The boy just shook his head as he pulled the cloak back on and, after bidding Hagrid good night, made his way back up to the dorm.


	7. Chapter 7

Part 7

The first task was over and no one had been killed, which was amazing considering two of the three dragons had broken free of their chains during the task and attempted to eat the spectators. Fleur had managed to get her egg only because she took advantage of the Romanian Ridgespike's sudden interest in snacking on the student body watching from the stands. The Chinese Fireball had set Viktor's robe on fire and when the young man shrugged out of it and threw it onto the beast's muzzle, the dragon had done its best to flatten him with a large tail club. The dragon Cedric had faced, a Swiss Flaming Bullet, didn't pay him the least bit of attention. As soon as the keepers left it for him to get around, the dragon had gone straight up; ripping the chain free and dive bombed the adults trying to get it back under control.

The students were still shocked over the near misses by the dragons and had been overwhelmed by the sheer power the great winged creatures displayed. Dinner that night was a quiet affair, though once in their common rooms, things got a little livelier as the Champions tried to open their eggs for the clue they were supposed to carry. When the unearthly shrieking was unveiled instead, they quickly slammed them shut as everyone cringed in pain.

Viktor was surprised at himself that he had become such good friends with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, considering that they were several years younger than him. He also enjoyed the Weasley twins and their bizarre humor; something he never would have given thought to in the past. He had been raised to be strong, courageous, fast, cunning, and steadfast. Fun, laughter, frivolity were all things he hadn't had the opportunity to enjoy.

He had gone with the Golden Trio one evening to visit Hagrid, bringing his egg, in hopes they could convince the big man to help them solve its mystery. When Fred and George snuck up on them and startled the egg out of his hands and into a huge trough of water, the secret was revealed. Harry had been elected to go in after the egg and when he went under the water, the sweet sounds of singing could be heard and he was able to understand what it was telling him. He rocketed out of the water, grabbed Viktor, and attempted to pull him in with him yelling, "I got it, I got it!"

The twins had been all too eager to help their adopted brother and boosted Krum into the trough headfirst. They were all surprised when the two stayed under water for some time, barely coming up for needed air before going back under. When finally they emerged, it was with huge grins as they told their friends what the egg contained.

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The second task was looming the next day and all three Champions were feeling the strain of keeping up with their school work as well and trying to prepare for what was ahead. After dinner, the young lions and their visiting housemate were in the library studying when the interim headmistress joined them and asked Harry to come with her.

No one thought anything of it until it was nearing bedtime and Harry had not returned to the dorm. Finally, Seamus spoke up, "Do you think that maybe he's staying the night down with his godfather? He does that sometimes, right?"

The others hesitantly agreed, but thought it a bit odd that Sirius hadn't been the one to come for him in the library, and no one had sent word. Finally, everyone went to bed, anticipating the next day.

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The morning of the next task arrived and everyone trooped down for breakfast, expecting to see Harry already at the table waiting for them. Ron and Hermione were very surprised to see an empty table and when they looked to the Head Table for their teachers, found four open chairs: Sirius, Remus, Severus, and McGonagall. No one knew where they were, or where Harry was.

When they all arrived down at the shores of the Black Lake, they filed into the stands and it was then that they saw the missing professors and headmistress on the main platform on the water. Even from a distance, Hermione and Ron could see the anger on Black's face and the apprehension in his body as he stared across the water. His two friends, no less tense than he, were doing their best to sooth him.

Albus arrived and announced the second task, "Someone each of the Champions is close to have been taken by the Merpeople down into the depths of the Black Lake and they must retrieve them within one hour."

"That's where Harry is," Hermione exclaimed. "That's why Sirius is so upset. Viktor has spent a lot of time with us and thinks of Harry as the little brother he never had, so they took him as the prize to be recovered."

This didn't go over very well with the rest of their House who hated to see Harry exploited in any way, and to have to tolerate something like this was a hard pill to swallow. The clock was set and the signal given, sending all three Champions into the water to make their way down to the home of the merpeople.

It took forty five minutes before Krum suddenly shot to the surface, one arm wrapped securely around a barely conscience teenaged boy. He swam to the platform and helped lift Harry out of the water and into Sirius Black's ready arms before climbing out himself. His own headmaster was there with a large towel to wrap around him and Viktor watched silently as Harry was engulfed in another towel, heating charm in place, and potions poured down his throat. The Hogwart's mediwitch appeared at Krum's side and gave him potions to swallow as well as she cast a diagnostic spell to make sure he was uninjured.

Harry began to cough and splutter as he came out of the spell he'd been placed under and looked up at his frantic godfather, "Siri? What happened?"

The black haired man hugged him tightly as he whispered, "Everything's alright now, pup, just rest. We'll explain it all to you later."

There was still five minutes left on the clock when Cedric appeared with his girlfriend, Cho, and made it to the group awaiting them. At ten after, Fleur was brought to the surface of the lake by one of the mermen, unconscious, and handed over along with her little sister to be cared for by the medical staff on hand.

That evening, the Weasleys, Hermione, and Viktor joined the three men and Harry in the Marauder's common room where everything was explained. Sirius was still fuming because he hadn't been consulted before the task that they were planning on taking Harry. Krum spent the first ten minutes after arriving doing nothing but apologizing to Sirius and Harry over and over again.

Snape finally interrupted him, "Enough, Viktor. They were going to take someone for you to rescue, for that was the nature of the task. You did not ask them to choose Harry, and they apparently decided who better for you than the boy you think of as a little brother."

Curled up on the couch in front of a roaring fireplace, a heavy blanket tucked tightly around him, hot cup of cocoa in his hands, Harry was pressed close to his godfather's warm, reassuring side. He smiled up at his foreign friend, "It really is okay, Viktor. I'm fine, and I'm flattered that you consider me family."

Krum reached down to pat the teen's leg through his blanket, "Thank you, Harry, for being so understanding. I do not know that I could be in your position."

His arm tightening briefly around his godson, Sirius growled softly, deep in his chest. Remus finally tugged on one long lock of his black hair to get his attention, "Give it up, Padfoot, and get over it. Look at it this way, there's only the final task to go and things can go back to normal."

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The third task was over and Cedric Diggory came out of the maze carrying the Cup over his head in triumph, sending the Hufflepuff House into shrieks of joy and delight. He had barely beaten Krum to it, but it was enough to put him over the top to be named Tri-Wizard Champion.

Newspaper reporters and their cameramen swarmed the young man as they demanded interviews and took numerous pictures. No one thought anything of it when someone suggested that the three Champions stand around the Cup for pictures, nor did they argue when Viktor's headmaster insisted that the families also come up for pictures. Igor thought it would be nice to take individual pictures with the Cup as well.

Cedric didn't mind as he was joined by his family for several pictures, then he handed the Cup to Fleur for her and her sister to get a few shots. The Cup was held out to Viktor who beckoned Harry to stand by him and they were joined by Igor, looming over them from behind. He placed one hand on each boy's shoulder and said, "Mr. Potter, vhy don't you hold the Cup as vell?"

Viktor grinned at the smaller boy and held it out. Harry reached out and placed his hands around the base of the Cup. The horrible feeling of being snatched away by his navel, followed by blinding, sickening lights, overwhelmed him and Harry nearly lost consciousness. The last thing he heard as he was sucked away by the portkey was his godfather screaming his name.


	8. Chapter 8

Part 8

Harry slammed into the ground hard enough to lose his breath and when he finally opened his eyes and sat up, he was surrounded by dark robed figures in silver masks. Viktor slowly rose to his feet as he studied the crowd hemming them in; he then reached down and pulled the younger boy to his feet, trying hard to protect him with his own body.

"Wormtail," Harry hissed softly when he spotted the cringing man slinking around a huge cauldron muttering things as he dropped strange ingredients in.

He looked up at the two teens and said something softly to Igor who had joined the Death Eaters. The headmaster pulled his wand abruptly, crying, "_Expelliarmus_!" Their wands were no longer in their possession and with two more waves, Viktor was stunned and Harry was bound to a tombstone.

Peter Pettigrew approached the young wizard with a dagger and sliced his arm, muttering something about the blood of an enemy, and collected the dripping red fluid in a vial, which he added to the cauldron. The rat-like man continued to add things to his potion which was sending up clouds of vile black smoke as Harry tried to check his friend from where he was tied to make sure he was alright.

An explosion from the black cauldron brought his attention back around in time to see a human-ish shape rising from the potion. When it turned eerily glowing red eyes on him, Harry knew who it was, "Voldemort."

"Hello, my dear Harry. Thank you ssssso much for your part in my resssssurrection, we couldn't have done it without your blood." With a wave of his hand, the Dark Lord removed his chains and chuckled as Harry dropped like a rock to the ground. "Where are you, my faithful little Wormtail?"

Clutching the bloody stump where his hand and part of his forearm had been, Pettigrew stepped forward fawningly to his master, "My Lord!" He knelt as best he could to kiss the robe Voldemort had shrugged into.

The evil wizard patted him on the head as he accepted the wand being offered to him by another Death Eater, "For your faithful ssssservice," he waved the wand and murmured something softly, causing a silver arm to replace the one that had been removed. Wormtail clutched the robe, whimpering his pathetic gratitude and generally groveling and debasing himself.

While the dark wizard was dealing with his little pet, and now addressing his troops like some sort of a general, Harry scuttled over to where Krum lay and found him to be alive, but barely responsive. Wishing he had his wand back, the boy tried shaking his friend to bring him to consciousness, earning him a slight groan.

"Ssssso, Harry, we meet again."

The young teen rose and faced the creature who wanted him dead defiantly, "Hopefully for the last time."

Hissing laughter echoed around the graveyard before the red eyes fixated on him again, "Yesssss, little boy, it will be for the lassssst time, I promissssse you that." He turned his head slightly, never taking his eyes from the fourteen year old, "Who hasssss hisssss wand?" Igor held it up and was ordered to return it.

Catching the wand, Harry didn't wait, but immediately started casting protective spells that rebounded what the evil one sent at him around the circle of Death Eaters causing them to run and duck to escape injury. Voldemort continued to cast a variety of spells as he chuckled at the boy's attempts to protect himself and Krum.

With an evil smile, he began to taunt the child, "Once you're properly dead and out of my way, Harry, I will be able to take care of all thossssse who have ssssstood in my way. I think that I will ssssstart with my former potionsssss massssster. I think feeding him with sssssome of hisssss own creationsssss will show him the error of betraying me. Then I will move on to Lupin. I know a wonderful ssssspell that forcesssss a werewolf to asssssume his lycanthropic form; then I will ssssskin him and mount him on my wall for target practice." His eyes narrowed eagerly as announced, "And asssss for your dear godfather, I will kill him ssssslowly and mossssst painfully ssssso that hisssss sssssuffering will lassssst a very, very, very long time."

A fury began to build in Harry. A feeling of fiery rage that he'd never experienced before. It made his anger about the newspaper article seem like a wisp of smoke in comparison. He didn't notice that he was no longer forcefully feeding his shielding, it was happening naturally. He didn't notice the trembling of the earth beneath his feet as the holy ground they stood upon responded to the power rising inside him. He didn't notice the sudden look of fear on Voldemort's face when the evil wizard realized what was happening.

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Voldemort screamed, striking out with everything in him, trying desperately to kill the only person able to stop him before it was too late.

Behind Voldemort, Harry saw something he never thought to see again. His godfather. Sirius was racing towards the circle of Death Eaters with murder and fear in his eyes. He was followed by a huge contingent of wizards, teachers from the school, parents, ministry workers, aurors, hitwizards, unspeakables, and many others.

Remembering the threat to the lives of those he loved, hearing the death curse being shouted, seeing the green light coming toward him, Harry suddenly, instinctively, knew what he had to do. He was a child of the elements in his animagus form, grounded in the life-giving earth and the strength its stones provided, he could soar on the winds high overhead, he drew his power from the world around him. When extremely strong emotions overrode his control, nature itself lent him its awesome power to stop the unstoppable. That had been why Hogwarts herself had trembled at his rage. If he'd used that power, he could easily have flattened the castle to its foundations. Between his own natural ability and the piece Voldemort had left behind when he first tried to kill him, Harry had more than enough power for what needed to be done.

Just as the curse was about to strike him, Harry Potter disappeared and in his place stood a beautiful winged unicorn, coal black in color with silver hooves, horn, and a lightning bolt down his muzzle. The green flash struck the gleaming horn, enveloped it, changed color, and was thrown back at Voldemort with such speed it was hard to follow it with the human eye.

The Dark Lord never stood chance. He didn't even have time to try to raise his wand before the modified snow white death curse struck him. He was surrounded by pure, unblemished light, love untainted, and the beauty of life itself. Voldemort had nothing in his massive arsenal to combat it and he collapsed, unearthly screams echoing throughout the graveyard as he was completely and utterly destroyed.

For a moment, the world seemed to stand still as the Death Eaters stared at the remains of their Dark Lord, before the realization hit them of what his death entailed. Several attempted to apparate away and found that they couldn't as Albus Dumbledore appeared in the midst wielding his wand like a man a quarter his age. Spells began to fly between the circle of dark wizards and the massive group descending upon them.

No one noticed in the melee that followed, that a winged unicorn slowly sank to the ground, wholly drained from the amount of magic he'd unleashed. He transformed back into fourteen year old Harry Potter as unconsciousness overtook him and he fell a short distance from the young man he'd been trying to protect.

Sirius fought his way to the side of the boy who lived yet again and dropped to his knees beside him, trusting in his friends to keep them safe. He gathered the limp child into his arms and waited impatiently while Remus grabbed the Goblet of Fire and put Viktor's hand on it before touching it himself. Black then took Harry's unresponsive hand and placed it with his onto the Cup as Severus gripped it and cast the appropriate spell to reactivate it and return them to Hogwarts.

Author's notes (not something I do a lot of)

Thank you so much to everyone who has been reviewing, it does the muse and I good to know people are enjoying our story. Just a reminder to those of you who sent me flames of discontent, this IS an AU story, which means that the characters may not act the way Ms. Rowling originally wrote.

Also, if you seriously have an issue with my writing, I invite you to send me a private message and I will be happy to talk with you about it. I've had to address this in my other stories as well, so I guess it bears repeating. I've talked with some of the other authors who assure me they deal with the same thing. If you send an anonymous review that blasts me, I have no opportunity to plead my case or defend myself or talk to you about how to make corrections.

Since most of what I've been receiving has been good, I take it to mean that people are enjoying themselves and I thank you for it! I've also had two people send me private messages on ways to improve that I've taken to heart and appreciate very much. Then we have one person in particular who has written a couple of really nasty reviews about how boring and terrible I am. Anonymously, of course, so no one can help them deal with their sense of inadequacy and insecurities.

Strangely enough, this person who calls me boring and other things has continued to read the story. I guess to see just how terrible I really am. Hopefully, you will read this little author's note, recognize yourself, and either step up and identify yourself to me privately so we can chat, or just stop submitting anonymous reviews for me to delete.

I should be wrapping this story up pretty soon, and thank you all for sticking with me as we go along!


	9. Chapter 9

Part 9

"You need to be patient, Sirius; it's only been a week since the final battle. Harry completely drained his magical core with that burst of power and it will take time for him to recharge it fully."

The man snarled at Dumbledore impotently, knowing it wasn't the old man's fault, but still needing an outlet for his frustration. He had barely moved from his post beside Harry's bed in the Infirmary, only to shower, change clothing, or stretch. Whenever he left, either Remus or Severus was right there to take his place so Harry was never alone.

The bed they were gathered around was at the far end of the room, curtains drawn around it to block anyone's view of the inhabitant; while the rest of the large area had been turned into a gift shop of sorts with all the presents, cards, balloons, and plants that currently occupied it. It looked as if most of the wizarding world had sent something to the child in thanks for his sacrifice and extended there wishes for a speedy recovery.

The three men were often joined in their vigil by Albus, Minerva, Ron, Hermione, Viktor, and several other friends who were concerned by Harry's continued coma. At that moment, Harry's best friends were the only ones in attendance to observe the canine animagus expressing his anger at Dumbledore. The old man knew that there was nothing else he could do and he laid a comforting hand on his former student's shoulder before taking his leave.

Hermione turned to Ron and softly asked him if he would go to the kitchens and ask the house elves for some dinner to be brought up to them. Once the red head left, she moved to sit on the edge of the bed and took hold of the boy's limp hand, "Hi, Harry, it's just me again."

Sirius smiled a bit at the girl, thankful for her presence and her steadfast loyalty to his godson. He eased back in his chair a bit to stretch the kinks out of his spine as he listened to her talk about classes and describe what a beautiful day he was missing. It was a perfect day to be out flying with a soft, light wind blowing through the trees. Something she said suddenly caught his interest and he began to pay closer attention.

"Ron and I been putting some thought into something you said a few months ago about needing to come up with some nicknames of our own for our animagus forms. Ron suggested that 'Feather' would be good for me, and I think that 'Carad', which means red in Elvish, fits him." She cocked her head to look at her friend, then reached out to gently brush his fringe of hair off his forehead, exposing the famous scar, "And for you, we're torn between calling you 'Bolt' for your scar, or 'Istar', Elvish for wizard."

"Istar."

Both Hermione and Sirius jumped as the softly spoken word seemed to ring in the quiet of the room. They stared at each other for a moment, before realizing that the one who spoke was the teenager on the bed between them, "Harry!"

"Ow."

"Hermione, go get Poppy, quickly. Harry, try not to move until she gets back so Poppy can check you over," Sirius issued orders even as he buried his hand in the child's thick black hair lovingly. "Merlin, but I've been worried about you, pup!"

"What happened?" Harry whispered.

"Hush, little one, I'll tell you everything in good time. Rest assured that you took care of Voldemort and everyone is alive."

With that knowledge to sooth him, Harry willingly submitted to Madam Pomfrey's diagnostic spells and allowed a summoned Snape to dose him with several potions. Comforted by the presence of his family and friends, the boy let the medicine do its work and dropped off into a healing sleep.

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Once Harry's magical core was stable and he could stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time, the rest of the story was filled in for him. After he killed Voldemort with the blast of Magical Light, the aurors, hitwizards, unspeakables, and ministry staff had subdued the Death Eaters and taken them into custody. Thanks to Dumbledore's quick thinking to put up an anti-apparation ward, none of them were able to escape, and now faced Azkaban for their crimes. There had been some minor injuries to deal with, but nothing life-threatening. Viktor had been one of the worst with the stunning spell his former headmaster had hit him with, and, of course, Harry.

It had taken some time to explain just how he'd done what he had. Harry could only explain it as an instinct that came over him, telling him that he had to transform, right at that moment. Albus, after speaking with the teen at length and pouring over several dusty ancient tomes, decided that Harry must have somehow tapped into not only his own power and the strength of the unicorn, but the horcrux Voldemort placed in him as a toddler and combined them. The old wizard had also discovered that the graveyard they were in had once been a sacred grove used by the druids long ago. With all of those things united behind Harry, along with his strong connection to nature through his animagus form, he had been made unstoppable and vanquished the Dark Lord. Permanently.

With the death of Voldemort, Harry no longer carried the horcrux within his own soul, which diminished his power somewhat. However, the natural magic that resided in the winged unicorn mixed with his own made him a formidable wizard still in his own right. Albus left the youngster to the loving care of his family with firm instructions that he needed to learn careful control over all his powers, and his guardians would be more than able for helping him with that between them.

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The end of year feast arrived and Harry appeared before his schoolmates for the first time since defeating Voldemort with mixed feelings. Part of him was happy that his task was done; he had done the impossible and somehow survived. But part of him was sad to see the year ending, because it also meant that Viktor would be leaving and Harry had gotten to be close friends with the older teen. Krum had joined the ranks of the Weasley's in Harry's book; he was now an honorary brother, and he would miss the young man.

Once everyone had gathered in the Great Hall, the professors, except for Dumbledore and Sirius, marched in to polite applause for their part in taking down the Death Eaters. When they reached the head table, Albus entered with Harry directly behind him, and Sirius behind Harry. With only a couple of exceptions, every student rose to their feet to cheer their conquering hero and his protectors. The teen glanced around, noting that the only students who didn't stand were Nott and Avery. He was absolutely stunned to see Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle all perched on their bench at the Slytherin table cheering loudly.

Catching his look, Sirius chuckled behind him, "I'll explain later, pup; for now, just know that they really are as happy as they appear."

Once they stood before the head table, Dumbledore held his hands up for quiet, "My dear students, another year has come and gone; and what a year it has been! Our visitors have become a part of our family here at Hogwarts; the Tri-Wizard Tournament has a new Champion in the form of Cedric Diggory…" He was briefly interrupted by cheers from the Hufflepuffs as they slapped their housemate on the back. "And best of all, Voldemort is no longer a threat to you, your families, or the world!" The explosion of joy that followed defied description; and the Weasley twins made sure it was even more memorable by setting off some of their handmade fireworks.

Sirius, standing behind Harry with his hands resting lightly on the boy's shoulders, was laughing in delight at the high spirits of his favorite red heads. He had truly taken them under his wing over the past year and taught them quite a bit, including how to become animagi. Fred had turned out to be a ferret, while his twin, different for once, was an orangutan. He thought it was fitting for both of them, considering how mischievous and prone to trouble they were.

As things died down, Albus continued with a pleased smile, "Although I know that young Mr. Potter has an immense dislike for drawing attention to himself, just this once, we cannot possibly let his deeds go unnoticed." Turning to the child, Albus Dumbledore, one of the greatest wizards in history, bowed deeply and humbly, "Thank you, my dear, dear boy, for facing and defeating Tom Riddle, once and for all!"

Following the lead of their headmaster, the student body and the professors bowed low, making Harry squirm and flush a bright red in embarrassment. Leaning back slightly against his godfather, he tilted his head to look up at the tall man and hissed, "Make them stop!" Sirius just smiled at him, eyes full of pride. Harry resorted to blackmail, "Make them stop, or I'll announce to everyone how much you enjoy tummy rubs!"

Sirius blanched white with that threat and pulled his wand, sending up a shower of crimson and gold sparks to gain everyone attention, "My godson thanks you all and is pleased to have vanquished Voldemort forever; but right now, he's starving, having been in a coma for some time." He turned to look into the twinkling blue eyes of Dumbledore, "How about that feast?"


	10. Chapter 10

And here we go, folks, the last chapter of You Raise Me Up! Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading the story and putting up with my meandering updates. And HUGE thank you's to everyone who has sent me reviews, both public and personal; I really appreciate them a lot.

I do plan on continuing the story at some point, though I may take a short break to work on some other things the muse and I are interested in doing.

DISCLAIMER: Any characters you recognize are the property of JK Rowling, and the song lyrics are from "You Raise Me Up" by the incomparable Josh Groban.

Part 10

In a car on the Hogwart's Express, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Neville, Luna, and Ginny were joined by Sirius, though how they all fit was a miracle of magic considering the size of the space. The journey home had finally begun and everyone was both excited to be starting their summer break and dreading the loss of daily contact with their friends.

Sirius was finally explaining to Harry why so many of the Slytherins had stood and applauded him at the final feast, "Some of the Death Eaters served because they had no choice in the matter and a few had even been trying to find a way out. You provided them with that when you killed Voldie off. Several of the DEs had been starting to pressure their children into becoming servants as well, something most of the kids didn't want to do."

"You mean Malfoy and his goons didn't want to follow in their father's footsteps?" Ron asked in disbelief.

"That's exactly what I mean, Ron. As Head of the Black Family, Draco's mother Narcissa had contacted me, asking if there was some way I could help her keep him safe from his father. Cissy's really not a bad person, despite being the sister of Bellatrix, and she didn't want to see Draco sacrificed on the whims of an inhuman monster. While at school, Draco came to me as well and said his mother told him I could be trusted. He was terrified at the thought of becoming a pawn to Voldemort, so when you killed him off, Harry, you actually set the boy free."

The dark haired teen thought about it for a moment before responding, "I can understand his fears. If he followed his father, Voldemort may have killed him out of spite for something his dad did wrong. But if he outright refused to join, he would have been putting a huge target on his back for any of the DEs to come kill him."

"That's right, so your timing was impeccable as far as many of those children were concerned. Rumor had it that Voldemort was going to demand that his faithful followers bring him their children this summer to begin their initiation into the ranks of the Death Eaters. You put a stop to that."

Neville grinned at his friend, "So, Harry, does this mean that you're going to have a peaceful summer and be able to finish out your schooling without someone trying to kill you off or use you in some way for their own gain?"

Before the boy could answer, Sirius narrowed his eyes, "Unfortunately, no."

Everyone in the car stared at him in stunned silence before Hermione demanded, "Why not?!"

Leaning back against the seat, the man dropped one arm around the teenager's shoulders, "There's still reporters looking to get hold of Harry to get an inside story, and of course Minister Fudge is wanting to use him as a political prop to get himself out of hot water. A lot of Voldie's followers had been caught before and claimed they were innocent or under the Imperius Curse. This time, they were caught red-handed and Fudge is looking like an idiot for having let them go free last time. Especially Malfoy; he was the one who kept Fudge in office as long as he did." He looked down at the child, frustration in his eyes, "And we think that not all of the Death Eaters were there, so there may be a couple still lurking about wanting revenge."

Banging his head backwards against the muscled shoulder of his godfather, Harry was grumbling, "Great, there goes my hopes for a couple of months of fun and relaxation."

The canine animagus chuckled, "Don't worry, pup, you'll still get to have fun and relax. We'll make sure of it."

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The train pulled into the station and the group waited until most everyone had disembarked before gathering their things and heading for the exits. The moment Harry appeared to step off the train, everyone still on the platform began to clap and cheer. Flashbulbs started going off as reporters tried to push their way through the crowd to reach the boy who lived, only to find their way impeded by a magical barrier. Aurors stationed around the perimeter exchanged smiles as their efforts to thwart the press paid off and the rabid reporters were forced to stay on the outside of the families gathered.

Sirius nodded to several aurors he knew in thanks for their presence and timely intervention as he herded the children off the train and into the loving arms of their families. Harry was enveloped by Mrs. Weasley in a tight hug even as her husband shook his hand in gratitude; he was finally saved by the twins who pointed out that even if Harry had saved the world, they were still related by blood and deserved to have a hug as well.

"Po…er…Harry."

The boy turned to find his nemesis of four years standing close by with his a slender, petite woman who shared many of the same facial features and build of her son. The young man stepped forward, eyes alight and hopeful, as he slowly extended his right hand, "Draco Malfoy, Slytherin House, soon to be fifth year. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Silence reigned around them as everyone held their breath to see what the boy who lived would do. Moving forward, the hand was taken in a firm grip, "Harry Potter, Gryffindor House, also going into fifth year. Good to meet you as well, Draco; hopefully we can put aside any differences and rivalries between the Houses and become friends."

Malfoy brought his left hand up to cover Harry's hand completely, "I sincerely hope so, Harry, I'd like that very much." He let go and turned slightly to bring forth the woman with him, "This is my mother, Narcissa Malfoy."

Unsure of protocol in a situation like this, Harry nearly panicked until he caught the blond boy mouthing 'bow' to him. Giving Draco a small grateful nod, Harry bowed formally to the beautiful woman, "A pleasure, Mrs. Malfoy."

She gave him a gracious nod and, as he straightened up, reached out to gently cup his chin in one delicate hand, "Though I am not, you may call me Aunt Cissy if you wish." At Harry's surprised look she smiled, "You are the godson of my cousin Sirius, who is also the Head of the Black Family. Besides, all of the pure-blooded families are related in some way to one another, and the Potter name is very old indeed."

Harry nodding in understanding, "Thank you, Aunt Cissy." He had only the slightest hesitation in saying the name, but figured it would get easier in time to call her that.

Sirius approached his cousin and embraced her gently, "Hello, Cissy, it's good to see you."

She returned the hug, "And you, cousin. I hope you and Harry will visit this summer so the boys have a chance to develop a friendship."

"Of course, we'd be delighted."

Narcissa placed a hand lightly on her son's shoulder, "Are you ready to go home, Draco?" When he nodded and said a quick farewell to his schoolmates, his mother led him to the apparation point and they left.

"Well, that was bizarre," Ron piped up.

"Ronald!" Came the scolding tone from both his mother and Hermione.

The red head shrugged and slapped his best mate on the back, "Keep in touch, Istar; we'll make some plans to get together sometime this summer."

"I will, Carad, you enjoy de-gnoming the garden when you get home," Harry replied teasingly before turning to their female cohort, "Have a good vacation, Feather, and we'll see you later this summer."

Hermione hugged both of her friends and said goodbye before hurrying off with her parents. The Weasley family exchanged hugs with Harry and Sirius again before taking their leave as well. Drawing his godson away from the rapidly thinning crowd on the platform, Sirius and Harry went through the barrier and into the main train station. The boy was a bit mystified by where they were going, until they reached the parking garage and he saw the motorcycle.

"Brilliant!"

Sirius laughed at his response, "I thought you might like a chance to ride on it with me, so I asked Remus to get it here for us to ride home."

The tall man handed Harry a helmet and showed him where to sit on the big bike before putting on his own cover and swinging one long leg over the seat. The monster started with a deafening roar and Sirius revved it a couple of times when he felt Harry bouncing behind him in eagerness. With a carefree laugh, Sirius took off, the teenager holding tightly to him as they pulled out of the garage and onto the street.

They made for the open road and as soon as he could, Sirius pulled onto a dirt road and flipped several switches. The first rendered them invisible to muggles, the second silenced the sound of the motorcycle, and the third sent them hurdling into the sky. Harry, unable to resist, stood up once they were in the air and stabilized, stretching out his arms and whooping to the heavens for pure joy. They hit an air pocket and he was forced to grab Sirius by the helmet to keep his balance, but the boy was too excited to drop back to the seat just yet. His godfather cast a silent sticking spell to his feet so he didn't fall off on accident while he was enjoying himself.

After a while, Harry plopped back down on the seat and leaned forward against the tall man, "This is totally brilliant, Sirius! Can I learn how to fly this sometime?"

His godfather chuckled, "When you're old enough, Harry, I promise that you'll get the chance to learn how." His reward was an enthusiastic hug from behind.

They made their decent rapidly into the yard surrounding Paddy's Place and Sirius reactivated the motorcycle's roar to warn anyone in the house that they were there so there were no surprises. As he shut everything down, the door opened and Severus came out to greet them. Harry was grinning from ear to ear over the ride and as he climbed off the monster bike, his legs didn't want to cooperate properly, causing him to stumble a bit.

Fortunately, Sev was there to lend a helping hand until he regained his balance from the ride, "Thanks, Professor, guess I wasn't quite ready to get off."

The canine animagus laughed, "You'll get used to the sensation after a few rides, pup. Then you won't try to pitch over on your nose every time you're done." Giving truth to his statement, Sirius swung his leg easily and gracefully over the seat and straightened. Reaching over to Harry, he tugged the helmet off and placed it, along with his own, in one of the enchanted saddlebags before turning to Snape, "You planning on staying this holiday, Sev?"

"Indeed, someone responsible needs to be here in case of emergencies."

Sirius cocked his head, swinging his shoulder length black hair to one side, "I thought Remus was the responsible one."

One black brow arched as the potion master curled his lip slightly, "And who do you plan on having in charge when Moony is in control?"

"Harry," Black teased with a smirk.

"At least he is more dependable than you, Padfoot."

The boy backpedaled quickly out of the way as things rapidly dissolved from there and a hexing war broke out between the two men. By the time Remus arrived via floo from Hogwarts, they were both rather spectacularly colored in a variety of hues and sporting new limbs.

The werewolf sighed and muttered, "And everyone thought the teenaged Marauders were bad." Pulling his wand, he approached his friends as he beckoned the watching boy over, "Come here, Harry, and let me teach you a new and very important spell." The child joined him and watched the wand movement closely as Remus stated, "_Finite Incantatum_." Both men were instantly returned to normal. Resting one hand on Harry's shoulder he continued with his short lecture, "This is a particularly handy spell for hexing wars, prank wars, Sirius accidents, Severus issues, and many other problems that may arise over the next few years."

Sirius and Severus turned their combined wand power on Remus as Harry, laughing gleefully, bolted away from the ensuing mayhem.

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The night, their first home from school, Harry bid the three men good night and went up to his room to get ready for bed. It was hard to believe that he was going to be fifteen this summer; hanging out with his new family brought out the child in him and having defeated Voldemort took away the constant threat hovering over his life. For the first time he could ever remember, Harry didn't have to worry about his Aunt Petunia trying to hurt him, his cousin Dudley going Harry Hunting, or some evil dark lord coming for him and his friends. He could have a summer free of hate and fear, something to look forward to, and the promise of good things to come.

And it was all because of Sirius.

His godfather had rescued him, taken him in, and offered unconditional love and support in all aspects of his life. What more could he possibly want? He paused in his study room to grab a piece of parchment and sat down to write. He had so many different emotions flooding through him, and he didn't know how to express them properly. He'd never had someone to take care of him the way Sirius did. He let his mind wander as he wrote down how he felt as if speaking directly to the man, and found his thoughts wandering to a song he'd once heard, so he wrote that down as well. When he was done, he folded it and set it aside, thinking that maybe he would give it to Sirius someday.

Grabbing pajamas on his way to the shower, Harry hoped Sirius would come up to tell him good night. After he was done in the bathroom, he came out to find his bed already turned down, the lights dimmed, and his beloved godfather waiting patiently for him.

Harry tossed his dirty clothes in a hamper and hurried over to climb into the big bed, lying on his side to face the man. Once he was settled, Sirius drew a light blanket up to cover him, patting it gently into place with a soft, "There you go, pup."

The black haired man seated himself on the bed beside the child and indulged himself in tenderly carding his long fingers through the messy mane resting on the fluffy pillows. Harry could feel his eyes beginning to grow heavy from the soothing touch and he smiled warmly, "Thank you, Siri."

"For what, puppy mine?"

"For being you, for being here, for everything. I love you," he barely whispered as sleep claimed him.

"I love you, too, Harry, with all my heart."

He sat and watched the boy sleep for a few minutes before rising and making his way out of the bedroom and into the study. Sirius noticed a piece of parchment lying on the table and, curious, picked it up. As he read, he felt his knees grow shaky with emotion and he dropped to sit in a chair.

_Dear Sirius,_

_I don't know when or if I will ever give this letter to you, but for some reason tonight, I just felt that I had to write some things down. I've never had someone in my life to love me the way you do, or that I could love in return. You are my hero, my savior, my best friend, and in many ways, the only father I remember. _

_You took me out of a terrible situation and brought me to live with you without hesitation or worry for how it would affect your own life. You treat me as if I am your own child, your own son, even though I'm not. You set boundaries for me, discipline me when needed, teach me, guide me, are there for me, and most of all, you love me. But more important to me is the fact that you aren't afraid to show that love. Whether it's ruffling my hair, patting my shoulder, giving me a hug, or tucking me into bed, you don't care what others think about you._

_I know that most kids my age don't want to be cuddled by a parent or hugged when they're upset or be put to bed, but I never had those things, and I love it when you do those things for me. I heard this song some time ago, and it keeps running through my head as I write this, so I'm going to put it on here as well._

_When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;_

_When troubles come and my heart burdened be;_

_Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,_

_Until you come and sit awhile with me._

_You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;_

_You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;_

_I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;_

_You raise me up, to more than I can be._

_And you really do raise me up, Sirius, to be more than I can be. I think that it's due in large part to your love that I was able to defeat Voldemort. I don't know that I can ever tell you or show you so that you could truly understand just how much you mean to me and how much I love you. _

_Sirius. My friend, my godfather, my father. _

_I love you._

Sirius slowly replaced the parchment from where he'd gotten it off the table and rose to reenter the bedroom. He dropped to his knees beside the sleeping child and tenderly stroked back the black hair from his forehead, revealing a slowly fading lighting bolt shaped scar. Leaning forward, he pressed a soft kiss to the boy's head, "I love you, Harry, my friend, my godson, my son. And I will always be here to raise you up, because you raise me up as well."

Pushing himself to his feet, he returned to the doorway, pausing briefly to look back, "Good night, puppy mine, sleep tight, and I'll be here when you wake." He slipped out the door, leaving it cracked slightly, as Harry Potter rolled over in his sleep, smiling contentedly to drift away more deeply into peaceful dreams.


End file.
